I tweet about the craft and business of writing and illustrating at @inkyelbows. If you're interested in my art or other projects, please do visit DebbieOhi.com. Thanks for visiting! -- Debbie Ridpath Ohi

I joined LinkedIn years ago when it first launched, but then deleted my account because I made the mistake of accepting a connection request from someone I knew only vaguely through a few e-mail exchanges. Because of that decision, I started accepting similar connection requests. Often these were from people on LinkedIn with hundreds of connections. Then I started receiving requests which were passed down through my connection links for favours -- either referrals or information or requests for me to suggest where they should send their manuscripts.
At that point, I realized that I had made a mistake in accepting that first connection to someone I didn't really know. The purpose of LinkedIn, after all, is to establish a network of trusted business contacts.
After I quit LinkedIn, I kept hearing good things from some of my friends and work associates about LinkedIn, about how they were using it and how much it was helping them. I decided to give LinkedIn another chance, but this time I added the following warning in my profile:

PLEASE NOTE: I only link to people with whom I have worked or know personally (e.g. have had at least one meaningful conversation). A single e-mail exchange, being members of the same LinkedIn group, and being a Facebook/Twitter friend is not enough for me to add you to my network, nor is just being familiar with each other's blogs. Either we've met in person and know each other personally, or have had a longterm working relationship. Thanks for your understanding.

I recently got a request from someone I've never met in person but with whom I had interacted a few times by e-mail. I declined and explained my reasons: that I hope she understood, but I always figure I should be able to explain each connection to anyone who wants a business referral for that person. Her response:

Actually, no. I don't understand.
You didn't seem to mind the free publicity you got for the [--deleted by me--] site I set up for you, which took hours to create and also promote. I didn't get a thing out of it, personally or professionally. Now it's just too embarrassing for you to add me in case some idiot asks why you are connected to someone?
Never mind. I get it. Thanks anyway.

Ouch. I admit I was pretty baffled by the site she described. Also felt terrible...I had forgotten that this woman had offered to enable people to send each other some of my cartoons (Nanowrimo comics, maybe?) as greeting cards years ago, but at the time, I had assumed the architecture was already being used by the woman for other purposes -- had she really created an entire SITE just for me without asking anything in return??
How could I not have noticed, either through traffic or e-mails? As soon as I got this woman's message, I went searching to check but I can't find any reference to the site anymore.
Whatever the case, I wish she had reminded me about our connection before sending me the second message above. :-( I've apologized and tried to follow up, but haven't yet received a response.
But to those using LinkedIn right now, I'm curious. Have you ever declined a LinkedIn invite? Do you have any policies for what kind of connections you will and will not accept?

From Charles Carroll, editor of www.xtremetravelstories.com:
Are you fed up with travel writing as it exists today? Are you looking for a fresh approach to this medium; one that focuses on the extreme nature of traveling as opposed to the “Club Med” stories that so often fill the pages of travel writing these days? If so, this contest is perfect for you! Send us your story, any language, any topic; as long as it’s original and interesting it constitutes as Xtreme! The winning author will be awarded a $100 cash prize! This is our inaugural competition and it will run quarterly. In addition to submitting your crazy travel experiences in written form- we are accepting Xtreme photos and videos for equal consideration. We’d eventually like to receive enough photos and videos to have a separate competition, but for now written and visual work will go head to head! Our viewers will vote for their favorites and XTS will award the winner on March 1, 2010- no strings attached, no questions asked. If your worried about creative license, the authors of the work on our site retain all rights to their art and, if they so wish, can ask for it to be removed at any time. Give it a shot, you’ve got nothing to lose! www.xtremetravelstories.com
DEADLINE: March 1, 2010
PRIZE: $100, (quarterly competition)
LIMITATIONS: None
CONTACT US: xtseditor@gmail.com
For more info about the contest:
http://www.xtremetravelstories.com/index.php/en/competition

Thanks to my friend Ray for pointing out the Weird Book Room on ABeBooks. If you're looking for some literary diversions, it's worth a visit.
I would have loved to have eavesdropped on the editorial or sales meetings for some of these books.

To those who took up the 1000 wds/day or 500 wds/day challenge last year, how did you do?
And how many of you want to join me in the challenge THIS year? For those who haven't heard of this challenge, the goal is to write 1000 words a day, at least six days a week. If you miss the occasional day or days, that's ok -- the goal is to keep up the motivation even if you sometimes slip up.
Too often, I find that writers start motivational challenges like NaNoWrimo with enthusiasm and good intentions, but give up when they start missing their daily targets for more than a few days in a row…undermining their confidence and defeating the purpose of the original challenge.
You can read more about the 1000 Words A Day Challenge here.
You can also aim to write 500 words a day instead (or you want to drop down from 1000 during the year) or the 250 Words A Day Writing Challenge (just added!).

#YAlitchat is a weekly twitter chat for anyone involved in the writing, editing , marketing or publishing of Young Adult literature. #YAlitchat takes place at 9PM EST and goes until 10:15PM. There is a guided discussion three weeks out of the month and one week each month, there is open discussion.
For daily tweets relating to Young Adult literature that may be of interest to our writers, I have started a #YAlitchat Twibe. Our Twibe is a twitter group for #YAlitchat members. Visit http://twibes.com/YALITCHAT to join. There is also a larger community where you can connect and share twenty four/seven on ning at http://YALITCHAT.ning.com without worrying about the limitations of twitter.

If you're a YA author, I strongly recommend checking out this community. Georgia regularly posts up-to-date info about markets and industry news relevant to YA writers. And feel free to add me as a friend! You can find me at http://yalitchat.ning.com/profile/inkyelbows.